Popular cereal is a drug, US food watchdog says

A list of drugs, folks:

Wellbutrin
Viagara
Xanax
Thorazine
Cheerios.......

Wait!!!! Cheerios? The cereal? Yup. According to the FDA, Cheerios is a drug because Cheerios markets the cereal as a healthy choice that helps reduce cholesterol. Therefore it must be regulated.

Is it just me, or does anybody else believe that the government has taken stupidity to heights never before imagined in their wildest hallucinations?

BREAKING NEWS: The government is about to declare pornography a drug because it gives us guys erections.

Doctor: "Never mind the Viagara. Here is a package with some very potent drugs in it. Take one Marilyn Chambers movie every night before bed time, and one playboy at any time you feel the urge but can't get it up. That will be $45.00 for the office visit and $600.00 for the porn....err, I mean medicine."

On the way home, the patient runs a red light. He tells the police officer that it was just an accident. It seems that the stick shift in his pants stuck, forcing his leg down on the gas pedal. The cop sees the porn in the passenger seat and arrests him for driving under the influence of drugs.

Yea, I know, I know, my story is stupid, but come on folks, it is not even 2% as stupid as the Federal government wanting to classify a cereal as a drug, is it?

Want to know what the most dangerous drug in the United States is? It is big government. It replaces heroin as the biggest monkey on peoples' backs.

Article is here.

I really thought this was an "The Onion" article lol.

It would be hilarious if it wasn't true.

I just read the article and all I can say is....

:shock:

The stupidity of people in power never ceases to amaze me.

danarhea said:

A list of drugs, folks:

Wellbutrin
Viagara
Xanax
Thorazine
Cheerios.......

Wait!!!! Cheerios? The cereal? Yup. According to the FDA, Cheerios is a drug because Cheerios markets the cereal as a healthy choice that helps reduce cholesterol. Therefore it must be regulated.

Is it just me, or does anybody else believe that the government has taken stupidity to heights never before imagined in their wildest hallucinations?

BREAKING NEWS: The government is about to declare pornography a drug because it gives us guys erections.

Doctor: "Never mind the Viagara. Here is a package with some very potent drugs in it. Take one Marilyn Chambers movie every night before bed time, and one playboy at any time you feel the urge but can't get it up. That will be $45.00 for the office visit and $600.00 for the porn....err, I mean medicine."

On the way home, the patient runs a red light. He tells the police officer that it was just an accident. It seems that the stick shift in his pants stuck, forcing his leg down on the gas pedal. The cop sees the porn in the passenger seat and arrests him for driving under the influence of drugs.

Yea, I know, I know, my story is stupid, but come on folks, it is not even 2% as stupid as the Federal government wanting to classify a cereal as a drug, is it?

Want to know what the most dangerous drug in the United States is? It is big government. It replaces heroin as the biggest monkey on peoples' backs.

Article is here.

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The government is strung out on stupidity. Hopefully they don't OD.

As I see it, we hardly even need the FDA at all. The private sector can do everything the FDA does much more efficiently. The only legitimate reason I can see for its existence is to A) investigate claims of harmful/fraudulent/quack products, and B) require things be labeled in certain ways.

The FDA does *not* need to be in the business of regulating drugs (and certainly not breakfast cereals). Private watchdog groups can do that just as well, without stalling for years on promising treatments and allowing thousands of people to die. All substances should be "use at your own risk."

If they didn't have such stringent guidelines as to what constitute a "drug" in the first place, they wouldn't be in the ridiculous position of claiming Cheerios is a drug.

Kandahar said:

As I see it, we hardly even need the FDA at all. The private sector can do everything the FDA does much more efficiently. The only legitimate reason I can see for its existence is to A) investigate claims of harmful/fraudulent/quack products, and B) require things be labeled in certain ways.

The FDA does *not* need to be in the business of regulating drugs (and certainly not breakfast cereals). Private watchdog groups can do that just as well, without stalling for years on promising treatments and allowing thousands of people to die. All substances should be "use at your own risk."

If they didn't have such stringent guidelines as to what constitute a "drug" in the first place, they wouldn't be in the ridiculous position of claiming Cheerios is a drug.

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Although the FDA needs serious reforms, it is absolutely necessary. If anything it needs to be expanded so that all the infomercials hocking poison don't have free reign to stuff whatever they want into a bottle so long as they put a notice saying that their penis pills and diet pills 'are not intended to treat or diagnose any illness.' The public has no idea what to make of medication, its safety, or its efficacy. There needs to be strong oversight, and I don't think that private groups can provide it. It's the same problem that was partially responsible for the econopocalypse. Financial instruments were rated by private entities, and those entities were responsible for overseeing their customers. As a result, a lot of worthless junk was rated AAA. The pharmaceutical industry already has too much power over their own overseers in the form of an immensely strong lobby. If these companies were actually paying the organizations charged with regulating them, particularly in an area where the public is completely dependent on the word of apparent experts, I don't think the system would work at all

What about the cereal thats "magically delicious"?

akyron said:

What about the cereal thats "magically delicious"?

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Nah, that's not a drug. It's loaded with sugar that kills you. It won't be regulated. LOL.

akyron said:

What about the cereal thats "magically delicious"?

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Any cereal that makes you see a leprechaun while you eat it should be regulated :lol:

TheNextEra said:

Any cereal that makes you see a leprechaun while you eat it should be regulated :lol:

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By regulated you mean given to me. I need that... give it to me... myyyy preeccciiiouussss

Why shouldn't government regulated this? If not Coca Cola can say that their product is good for stomach pain or chocolate marketed as an anti depression product. So if a company claims that their product have medical effect they have to prove it. But maybe it's just me as a Swede you American maybe want back the ol' good snake oil peddling days.

TheNextEra said:

Any cereal that makes you see a leprechaun while you eat it should be regulated :lol:

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How about a chocolate cereal that makes you cookoo? Shouldn't that be regulated. :mrgreen:

Bergslagstroll said:

So if a company claims that their product have medical effect they have to prove it. .

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I think Cheerios would have no problem doing just that. Eating a small bowl of a healthy cereal every morning instead of other junk will make you a healthier person. I have no doubt their claims are true. I don't need Cheerios to prove to me the obvious. If coke wants to claim health benefits, let them. Only a dumbass would really believe it.

Bergslagstroll said:

Why shouldn't government regulated this? If not Coca Cola can say that their product is good for stomach pain or chocolate marketed as an anti depression product. So if a company claims that their product have medical effect they have to prove it. But maybe it's just me as a Swede you American maybe want back the ol' good snake oil peddling days.

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Did you even read the article?

Cheerios have multiple ingredients in them that are FDA proven to reduce cholesterol.. Substantiating their claims on their box.

Seriously?

It's like a dog whistle. Drudge tells the conservatives what they should be outraged about, and doggone it -- they're OUTRAGED.

FDA. FOOD and Drug Administration.

Cheerios makes claims that are not supported by fact. Since the FOOD and Drug Administration is responsible for making sure medical claims are substantiated, this is entirely within their pervue.

Seriously -- some of you cats need to stop using your heads as suppositories.

Really depends on what they are putting in the cereal. If they are adding stuff to provide the health benefit they claim, then yes they should be regulated even more. If they are just doing a marketing trick, then no more regulation than the normal (if any in the US) food regulation. But it is up to the company to prove that they are not adding substances to their cereal that provide health benefits.

As for putting the regulatory system into the private sector.. what is next, privatising the military? Sure the FDA is probably broken after a decade of lack regulatory accountability and transparency under the Bush administration, but that dont mean that you should privatise the darn thing and put both sides of the regulatory system on the same side of the regulatory table.. come on.. Its like putting a fox in charge of hen house security, convicted cons in charge of keeping the convicted cons in prison.. you just dont do that.

stevenb said:

Did you even read the article?

Cheerios have multiple ingredients in them that are FDA proven to reduce cholesterol.. Substantiating their claims on their box.

Seriously?

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If so, then it is medicine and not cereal and hence should be regulated as such! :2wave:

The Jovial One said:

It's like a dog whistle. Drudge tells the conservatives what they should be outraged about, and doggone it -- they're OUTRAGED.

FDA. FOOD and Drug Administration.

Cheerios makes claims that are not supported by fact. Since the FOOD and Drug Administration is responsible for making sure medical claims are substantiated, this is entirely within their pervue.

Seriously -- some of you cats need to stop using your heads as suppositories.

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If you bothered to READ the article, instead of assuming the government wasn't making an ass of itself... you'd realize the problem isn't with the CLAIMS but how they are displayed on a box of Cheerios. The FDA isn't contesting the claims, but the MARKETING style the Cheerios box is showing to the public.

I guess, when you live your life believing the Government is a benevolent force of good, one need not have factual information, just make insulting comments and display smugness.

At least its not Jenkem....

Seriously, you don't want to look that up in Wikipedia. My co-worker just told me about it.

PeteEU said:

If so, then it is medicine and not cereal and hence should be regulated as such! :2wave:

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) With that thought process, so should: oatmeal, apples, oranges, or anything containing natural ingredients that are proven to help out with a person's health.

Zyphlin said:

At least its not Jenkem....

Seriously, you don't want to look that up in Wikipedia. My co-worker just told me about it.

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You know when someone says you shouldn't look it up and you get so curious that you have to look it up? Well seriously- take Zyphlin's advise about not looking it up.

akyron said:

What about the cereal thats "magically delicious"?

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LOL!

What about that famous Capn Crunch cereal? I am sure this one is loaded with drugs!:mrgreen:



Has the FDA looked into Krispy Kreme donuts or Reeses Peanut Butter cups for drugs? I am pretty sure those can be addicting.

Kernel Sanders said:

Although the FDA needs serious reforms, it is absolutely necessary. If anything it needs to be expanded so that all the infomercials hocking poison don't have free reign to stuff whatever they want into a bottle so long as they put a notice saying that their penis pills and diet pills 'are not intended to treat or diagnose any illness.' The public has no idea what to make of medication, its safety, or its efficacy.

Click to expand...

My problem isn't so much with the FDA contesting false claims. My problem is with them requiring huge amounts of testing for promising treatments while people continue to die, and then holding the manufacturers liable anyway. I agree that quack medicine like homeopathy should not be allowed to make any medical claims. Heck, I'd go a step further than that, and require them to make a huge label on their products that says "THERE IS OVERWHELMING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT THIS TREATMENT IS TOTAL BALONEY. FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY."

However, the FDA has no business regulating the actual sale or use of those products. If people want to buy stupid ****, they should be able to. If they want to take their chances with an unproven new treatment because they have a serious disease, they should be able to. The FDA has almost certainly killed far more people than its saved, by denying them treatments that could have helped them because they were unproven.

Kernel Sanders said:

There needs to be strong oversight, and I don't think that private groups can provide it.

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It could be like what ISO 9000 or the Better Business Bureau does for corporations. It could be like what US News and World Report does for colleges. An independent body with credibility in the public's eyes.

All drugs could be legal and "use at your own risk," but independent agencies could certify how effective their treatments are, and how much evidence there is for those claims.

Kernel Sanders said:

It's the same problem that was partially responsible for the econopocalypse. Financial instruments were rated by private entities, and those entities were responsible for overseeing their customers. As a result, a lot of worthless junk was rated AAA. The pharmaceutical industry already has too much power over their own overseers in the form of an immensely strong lobby. If these companies were actually paying the organizations charged with regulating them, particularly in an area where the public is completely dependent on the word of apparent experts, I don't think the system would work at all

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Like you said, the pharmaceutical industry has a huge amount of influence over the government. They would have much less influence over a watchdog group...particularly if there were rival watchdogs ready to attack their credibility at the first sign of a conflict of interest.

akyron said:

What about the cereal thats "magically delicious"?

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I have always wanted to taste that but it's banned here

Laila said:

I have always wanted to taste that but it's banned here

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They're banned? Really?! Is that just in London, or nationwide?

I'm guessing because the British government somehow views the leprechaun as "hate speech"?